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DESULTORY REMARKS 



ON TUE QUEvSTION OF EXTE^•DING 



SIAVEKY INTO MISSOURI: 



AS ENUNCIATED DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE SIXTEENTH CON- 
GRESS, BY THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM CHESTER COUNTY, STATE 

OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



-quacqne i/pse miserrima vidij 



JJt quorum jjars mm\m?i fui. 



ESTtRACTED PROM THE AMERICAN REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER OF 181G-20. 



WEST CHESTER, PA: 

LEWIS MARSHALL, PRINTER. 
185G. 



1/ i:- 



^ t a t ^ 



Of 



PREFATOKY. 

Thb pendino; stnig.sTc with the Slave Poicer of the Soiitli. in it.s nnhaUoweJ 

^ «»Tort9 to pollute our Free Ten-ifor;/ with Human IVjndage— a Territory whicll 

'^^ was once believed to be protected from that awful curse, under the deceptiv* 

A '' Compromise" of 1820 — very naturally awakens the recollection of the un- 

-^ happy controversy, known to the past generation as the " Missouri Question." 

^ At that time, Chester Coixtt— as far as appeared— was united, and proudly 

r unanimous, in resisting the aggressions of the Slave Power. No man, of any 

^ Sect or Party, within her limits, ventured then to betray a symptom of truck- 

r }ing to that insatiate and inexorable Power. The same was almost literally 

^ true of our good old Commonwealth. But non; there is too much reason to 

apprehend, that a portion of our people has become sadly dogeuerat*% and sck- 

vile, on that momentous question. It cannot fail, however, to be highly grarU 

fying to every friend of Freedom, and Fair Play, to witness the manly stantV 

taken by the present Represcniatice o( our veuenihle Bailiwic-k, in this secontl 

und more desperate assault upon Human Rights an<l National Prosperity. His 

poaition will unquestionably prove asourceof enduring, satisfactory reilection^ 

to himself, — and will, no doubt, be remembered to his honor, when the paltry 

wiuabbles of the factions and cliques of our day shall bo utterly forgotten, or 

reviewed, with a blusl;, through the misty veil of tradition. 

Under au impression that it might, peradventuro, afford a passing interest to 
some of our younger c>intemporaries, to reproduce the sentinionts and opinions 
of a by-gone age, as uttered by a former member tVam this District, during thtf 
Agitation of the Missouri Quesfion. — the same are Iiere collected and ]>re8euteiL 
merely with the addition of a few occasional nofes. "Whatever may be th« 
present estimate of the notions then honestly held — though hastily and crudely 
expressed, — the author is free to say, that in reviewing the», after a lapse oi 
thirty-six years, he finds no doctrine but what he now conscientiously holds — 
ro sentiments to disavow — no opinions to retract, — nothing, in short, to re. 
grct, save his own inadequate powers, and the unpropitious result of the me- 
cnorable contest then waged for Philanthropy and Free Institutions. If tho»« 
views of a former Representative, shall still be found in accordance with the 
sentiments of the People among whom he has passed his three score years and 
ton, lie will tind consolation in the hope that bis youthful dream of a pure Re- 
public, and the equal Rights of Man, has not altogether become Ru "obsclets 
idea." 

West Chester, Penn.. Hm-h 2n. 135G. 



SLAVERY IN MISSOURI. 

At a meeting of the citizens of Chester County, (a) held agrcir- 
ablv to public notice, at the Court House, in the Borough of West 
diciter, on Saturday, the 27th of November, 1819, Edward Dak- 
LiixirroN, Esq., Chairman, and Isaac D. Barnard, Secretary, the 
fo-ll' wing Resolutions were adopted, viz : — 

AVhereas, it is at all times the right of the citizens peaceably tr 
assc iii^ble and express their opinions on public affairs, and it becomt-? 
their duty so to do when matters of great interest to the count ry 
and to the present and future generations agitate the Councils of 
the Nation : — such wo consider the question of admitting ncvr State}* 
into the Union, without providing against the introduction of Sla- 
Tet*>' therein ; — therefore 

J'esolved, as the opinion of this meeting, that it would be unwise, 
impolitic, and unjust, for Congress to admit the proposed State of 
Mis>-:ouri, or any other new State, into the Union, unless such Stat« 
sJia'.l suflBciently provide by their Constitution and frame of govern- 
ment against the introduction of Slavery into the same. 

llesolved, that a circular Letter, expressive of the sense of thii> 



(n) One of the arts by which the .?lave Power, at the present day, mar.a^e* 
Nor; hern Politiciaiip, is to make them believe the extension of Slavery is a 
stri'ily Party question — a question in which the " Democracy" (save the uiarkl^ 
i« vkallv interested; and the game is— whenever the " peculiar institution" 
TM-nu-es it^ — to sound the alarm, as thus: — "Bewareof FcdcralUts and laiiaHi!-.'" 
**%ir^hlo the Parly .'" This silly slang influences thousands of Northern didts. 
■wh« cannot— or will not— see that whenever the question arises, the ^iitJi 
ea<-.M for oo Party ties. They may differ about other things ; but on the on* 
ncnliar to^»io, they permit neither opponents, nor neutrals, among then.- 
Eifrt/ Party, there — no matter what its character, creed, or pretensions — (even. 
ala^: to the JiL'UiUwy)—incariably goes in solid phalanx for Slavery! But At,«- 

ii, 1819— no man ventured to charge tl'O proceedings at U'est C/icsia;-'cr tht 

llcsdutions of tlw State Authorities — with being Party movements. It would 
hn\o been rare uetrs to the people of Chester County, in those day.s, to have .in. 
nounccd Edward DA-aLtxcTON, and Major Barnai!i>, as eith r F dcralish; f>r 
Paii-itica. The original Democracy had not, thai, fallen into the keeping and 
gui.lanco o( old Federal jA'a'.Ura : but were ever ready to vindicate lluuuu, 
h't(;hfs, and resist sinibtcr Project*, without regard to idle Party watchwords, 
frsijj) tainted sources. 



neeting, be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and addressed 
TO each Senator and Representative from Pennsylvania, in the Con- 
«^"ess of the United States. 

A Committee, consisting of the following gentlemen, viz. : Ww. 
IL JDiUingham, Dr. Charles Lukens, and George MaHsey, being 
appointed to prepare the Circular, agreeably to the last above Res- 
olution, the meeting adjourned for a short time. 

Being again assembled, a Letter was reported, and approved of. 
It was then 

Resolved, that the different Counties of this State be requested to 
hold similar meetings with the present, in order to obtain a distinct 
and general expression of the public sentiment. 

Remlved, that a Committee, consisting of five persons, be ap- 
pointed to correspond with other Committees ; to forward the Let- 
ters agreed upon to our members in Congress, and to hold such 
»ther Correspondence on the subject as they may think will pro- 
mote the objects of the meeting. 

The following gentlemen were appointed the said Committee of 
Correspondence, viz. : Jesse Kersey, John Duer, Charles Moivry, 
Wm. Jackson, Jr., Isaiah Kirk. And it was further Resolved, that 
these proceedings be published. 

(Signed,) Edwaud Darlington, Chairman. 

I. D. Barnard, Secretary. 

[Sec American Republican, December 7, 1810.] 



The "free soil" sentiments of CiiEsTEK County, as thus express- 
ed, were promptly sustained by the xmanimous voice of the State. 
Authorities, in the following Proceedings, — worthy of Pcnnayham^ 
in her best days. 

Resolutions relative to preventing the introduction of Slavery 
into neiv States. 

The Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth 
«f Pennsylvania, whilst they cherish the right of the individual 
States to express their opinions upon all public measures proposed 
In the Congress of the Union, are aware that its usefulness must in 
a great degree depend upon the discretion with which it is exercised. 
They believe that the right ought not to be resorted to upon trivial 
subjects or unimportant occasions, but they are also persuaded that 
there are moments when the neglect to exercise it would be a dcro- 
lictioii of public duty. 



Such an occaMon us in their judgment dcn-^ands the frank expres- 
sion of the sentiments of Pennsylvania, is now presented. A mea- 
sure was ardently supported in the last Congress of the United 
States, and will probably be as earnestly urged durmg the existing 
gessiou of that body, which has a palpable tendency to impair the 
political relations of the several States; which is calculated to mar 
tlic social happiness of the present, and future generations; which, 
if adopted, would impede the march of Humanity and Freedom 
tJjrough the world, and would affix and perpetuate an odious stain 
upon the present race : a measure, in brief, Avhich proposes to spread 
the crimes and cruelties of Slavery, from the banks of the Missis- 
sippi to the shores of the Pacific. 

When measures of this character are seriously advocated in the 
llepublican Congress of America in the Kineteenth Century, the 
several States are invoked by the duty which they owe to the Deity, 
by the veneration which they entertain for the memory of the 
Founders of the Republic, and by a tender regard for Posterity, to 
protest aga'nst its adoption, to refuse to covenant with crime, anvl 
to limit the range of an evil that already hangs in awful boding over 
80 large a portion of the Union. 

Nor can such a Protest be entered by any State with greater pro- 
priety than by Pennsylvania. This Commonwealth has as sacredly 
respected the rights of other States, as it has been careful of its 
own. It has been the invariable aim of the people of Pennsylvania 
to extend to the Universe, by their example, the unadulterated 
blessings of civil and religious Freedom. It is their pride, that they 
Jiave been at all times the practical advocates of those improvement? 
and charities amongst men, which are so well calculated to enable 
them to answer the purposes of their Creator ; and, above all, they 
may boast that they were foremost in removing the pollution of Sin* 
very from amongst them, i If, indeed, the measure against which 
Pennsylvania considers it her duty to raise her voice, was calculated 
to abridge any of the rights guaranteed to the several States ; if« 
odious as Slavery is, it was proposed to hasten its extinction by 
means injurious to the States upon which it was unhappily entailed, 
— Pennsylvania would be among the first to insist upon a sacred ob- 
fiervance of the Constitutional compact. Put it cannot be pretend* 
cd that the rights of any of the States are at all affected by refus- 
ing to extend the mischiefs of Human Pondage over the boundless 
regions of the West, — a Territory which formed no part of the 



Confederation at the adoption of the Constitution ; -which has bee)i 
but lately purchased from an European Power by the people of the 
Union at large ; ■which may or may not be admitted as a State into 
the Union at the discretion of Congress, which must establish a Re- 
publican form of Government, and no other ; and whose climatie 
aflfords none of the pretexts urged for resorting to the labor of the 
natives of the torrid zone. Such a Territory has no right, inherent 
or acquired, such as those States possessed which established the 
existing Constitution. When that Constitution was framed, in Sep- 
tember, seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, the concession that 
three-fifths of the Slaves in the States then existing should be rep- 
resented in Congress, could not have been intended to embrace re- 
gions at that time held by a foreign power. On the contrary, so 
anxious were the Congress of that day to confine Human Bondage 
within its ancient home, that, on the thirteenth of July, seventeen 
hundred and eighty-seven, that body unanimously declared that 
Slavery or involuntary servitude should not exist in the extensive 
Territories bounded by the Ohio, the Mississippi, Canada, and the 
Lakes. And in the ninth section of the first article of the Consti- 
tution itself, the power of Congress to prohibit the migration of ser- 
vile persons after the year eighteen hundred and eight, is expresaly 
recognized; nor is there to be found in the Statute book a single in- 
stance of the admission of a Territory to the rank of a State, in 
wliich Congress have not adhered to the right vested in them by the 
Constitution, to stipulate with the Territory upon the conditions of 
such admission. 

The Senate and House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, 
therefore, cannot but deprecate any departure from the humane and 
onlightened policy, pursued not only by the illustrious Congress of 
1787, but by their successors, without exception. They are per- 
suaded that, to open the fertile regions of the West to a servile race, 
would tend to increase their numbers beyond all past example, 
would open a new and steady market for the lawless venders of 
human flesli, and would render all schemes for obliterating this most 
foul blot upon the American character, useless and unavailing. 

Under these convictions, and in the full persuasion that upon thif 
topic there is but one opinion in Pennsylvania — 

Resolved, by the Senate and Home of Representatives of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, That the Senators ani Represen- 
tatives of this State in the Congress of the United States, be and 



8 

they are hereby requested, to vote against the admission of any 
Territory as a State into the Union, unless "the further introduction 
of Slavery or involuntary servitu<le. except for the punishment of 
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be 
prohibited; and all children born -within the said Territory, after its 
admission into the Union as a State, shall be free, but may be held 
1>o service until the age of twenty-five years." 

Resolved, That the Governor be and he is hereby requested, to 
cause a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolutions to be trans- 
mitted to each of the Senators and Representatives of this State 
ia the Congress of the United States. 

JOSEPH LAWRENCE, 

Speaker of the House of Bepresentatives. 

ISAAC WEAVER, 

Speaker of the Senate. 

Approved, the twenty-second day of December, one thousand 
eight hundred and nineteen. 

WILLIAM FINDLAY. 



[From the American Kcpubiican, December 28, ISIO.J 
Mr. Mowry: — I have seen some editorial remarks in the National 
Intelligencer of the 20th inst., in reply to an essay, from a Rhod« 
Island paper, on the subject of Slavtryy which in my opinion d«- 
serrc a few comments. The editors unite with the writer pf that 
essay, in expressing their abhorrence of the slave trade; and yet 
are willing that our free government should sanction the extension 
of that traffic into new regions, where the soil has never yet beea 
sullied by the footstep of a slave! By slave trade — it is true — thos« 
editors mean the transportation of persons from their native coun- 
try to another countrv, and scllinf!; them for slaves; but I consider — 
and I think every disinterested man will also consider — the propa- 
sjation of Slavery in new territories, whore it never existed before, 
?is a trade equally abhorrent, — and equally unworthy of a peopk 
professing the principles of liberty. Is it more criminal to kidnap 
the inhabitants of Africa,, and sell them to those who will buy them. 
than it is to orrjanize new territories in such a way as will inevitably 
entail Slavery upon unburn miUions of the human race? What 
have the unborn descendants of Africa done, which makes it less 
criminal to predetermine their bondage, than it is to consign those 



already born to Slavery? ( Will not tlie extension of Slavery into 
the boundless regions of the West, tend to multiply that descrip- 
tion of persons more rapidly among us, than all the slave ships that 
. overtraded to our shores? Most indubitably it \\i\]\ And therefoi'« 
I consider the proposition as the most stupendous attempt to promote 
a real, atid interminable slave trade, that Tvas ever yet devised by 
the cupidity of man. The multiplication of the human species is' 
notoriously accelerated by distributing them over a large surface of 
fertile territory. It has done more to increase the population of the 
United States, than could have been effected b}' all the fleets of 
Europe.A The addition to our numbers made by immigrants, is but 
as a drop in a bucket compared to the increase by procreation, which 
is promoted by the distribution of our people, and the consequent 
facilities in obtaining subsistence; and the same principles apply 
equally to a black, as to a -white population. Is not the proposition 
then — I repeat — the most gigantic plan for driving on a real slav« 
trade that ever was conceived? ) The obvious sneer at the Rhode 
Islanders, which the editors of tne Intelligencer have indulged in, 
oil account of those people having been formerly concerned as car- 
riers of slaves, is very little to the purpose. The fact only shows, 
that whenever there is ?, market for an iniipitous traffic — no matter 
how abhorrent to the virtuous part of the cumniunity — there will 
always be persons whose avarice will prompt them to take advantag* 
of it. Yet, with this humiliating; fact before their eves, the editors 
are anxious to open a boundless market, offering irresistible tempta- 
tions to such traders, within the bosom of our own country ! They 
wish to open a field — and consequently to create a demand — for 
that pestiferous population, which will at once double the value of 
every negro in the United States, and cause every breeding femal« 
iJave to be considered as a prolific source of wealth to her owner. 
If this would not be to encourage a slave trade, and to establish it 
beyond all control, I confess I know nothing of the matter. 

There is another topic touched upon, in the editorial remarks in 
the Intelligencer, which I cannot agree to let pass unnoticed. They 
have artfully endeavored to couple the opposition to the extension 
of slavery with the noted Hartford Convention, of detestable mem- 
ory. This attempt to blend the machinations of Treason with a 
manly opposition to the groivth of slavery, is an imputation against 
lUc Republicans of the Middle and Northern States, as ungenerous 



10 

as it is unfounded in truth or justice. Sir, I detest the Hartford 
Convention, and all ■s>ho were aiding or abetting therein, or approv- 
ing thereof, as much as I do the diffusion of human slavery ^ and the 
vocation of slave traders, — and for pretty much the same reasons. 
I detest them all, because I consider them inimical to Republican 
Freedom ; — hostile in their nature to equal rights, and destructive 
of human happiness. Arc l^ennf-ylvania, New Jersey, and Keir 
York, to be taunted and told of the Hartford Convention, because 
thej arc opposed to the gro^vth and expansion of slavery ? Let 
^hose States vrhich have done their duty to the Union letter than these, 
step forth and sho'O' the grounds for the imputation. Let us see 
whether ^^ faithful Pennsylvania' has not been as efficient a sup- 
porter of the Union, against the treasonable machinations of the 
Hartford Convention, and its co-adjutors, as any other State which 
the editors of the National Intelligencer may please to name. I 
hope, sir, we shall see no more such attempts to attach odium to the 
stand which the Republicans of the Middle and Northern States 
have felt it their duty to take, against the extension of the direst 
Curse which hangs over our Nation. \ We love and cherish our Union, 
— ^we love our Republican fellow citizens, East, West, North, and 
South, — we love our country, and its Free Institutions, better than 
we love our lives ; — and it is because of this love, that we raise our 
voices against the further extension of that deadliest foe to our 
country's happiness — human slavery./ 

A Pennsylvania Democrat. 
December 27, 1819. 



[From the American Republican, Jan. 11, 1820.] 
Mr. Moavry: — Li tlie Democratic Press oi the 22d ult., there is 
a communicatin signed ''T. C." (a) on the subject of Human Sla^ 
t>t?r^,— -which in its doctrines and logic, is every way worthy of thf 
days of James the lirst, or his immaculate son Charles — who, in 
their time, were the anointed^ "legitimate, ^j/rt' divine masters, and 
owners of the populace of Great Britian. How Mr. Binns could, 
in this groat Commonwealth, and at tiiis time of day, suffer such an 
Article to pass through his press to the public, without some Editorial 
protest, or accompanying antidote to the poison, is for him to ex- 

[ii] X.i doubt the initial? of Thomi^ Coopf.—vi quondam Judge, in PeniT» 
•jlvania ; aad then a Professor in South Carolina. 



11 

plain, and not me. All that I have to notice, is tlic infamous arti- 
cle itself; and I shall do it in my own blunt, free-spoken, American 
manner, — although I am moII aware that the writer of that essay if< 
a learned native of '' His Majesty's" dominions, and was regularly 
educated, and brought up, in the full enjoyment of the blessmgs of 
"legitimacy." " T. C," if I mistake not his signature^ came to 
Pennsylvania under the character of an English Whig, and friend to 
the Rights of Man ; but time has shown, that like most other disci- 
ples of English Whigism, his principles are of a very convenient, 
accommodating quality. Having lately received an appointment in 
a Slave-holding State, he undertakes to ingratiate himself with his 
new patrons, by coming out boldly as the champion of Slavery. No 
American ever yet dared to vindicate' Human Slavery in the abstract, 
— or to justify the bondage of his fellow men upon any other plea 
than that of necessity. But " T. C." outstrips the most ardent of 
our indigenous enemies of restriction, and completely out-Herods 
Herod in his dogmas on the Slavery of his species. The planter? 
of the South, being the sons and descendants of those patriots who 
declared that " all men were created equal, — that they were endow- 
ed with certain inalienable rights — among which were life, liherty^ 
and the pursuit of happiness," &c. I say, these gentlemen never 
dreamt of justifying Slavery, — except on the above-mentioned 
plea; and I suspect they will think that Mr. " T. C.'s" essay — if it 
prove any thing — proves rather too much for this Repubbcan climate- 
" T. C." has most audaciously undertaken to prove, in this land of 
liberty, that human slavery is " defensible by the law of nature' — 
^^by the latv of God" — and '* by the municipal laws of the great 
majority of civilized nations, ancient and modern," — as if the de- 
testable codes of tyranny, in the old world, were therefore to be 
binding on us! He also attempts to prove that " negroes have no 
right to object to negro Slavery" — that " Congress has not the right 
to prohibit Slavery "in our Territories," — and that " under present 
circumstances, it is not expedient to prohibit it !" Here is, indeed, 
ft precious string of propositions, to be proved in the face of a 
youthful Nation of Freemen, who have just had an ornamented 
eopy of their Declaration of Independence published, as a rencAved 
evidence of tlieir zeal for the doctrine that " all men are created free 
and equal !" If the laws of nature, and nature's God, and the 
laws of civilized nations, all concur in justifying and authorizing 



12 

xhivery^ I should like to know by -what riyht the patriots of severity- 
six resisted the " civilized" enactments of his Majosty George the 
Third, " by the grace of God" King of these Colonies ? "What 
right have the "radical" Slaves at Manchester, <^'c., in England, 
who talk about "reform" — \;\iSii right, I say, have they to "object" 
to their Slavery? " T. C." says, ^^ negroes have no right to object 
to Slavery," because " throughout Africa they make Slaves of each 
other ; and where the Slaves cannot be sold as Slaves, they are kept 
as Slaves. It has been so from time immemorial, and is so now. I 
refer to the travellers in Africa on this point, particularly to Park." 
Now if this be sound logic, I say in my turn, that Englishmen hav« 
no right to object to oppression. Throughout Great Britain thej 
oppress, and tyrannize over, each other ; and where their wretched 
vassals cannot be controlled as such, they are either hung or trans- 
ported as convicts. It has been so from time immemorial, and is s« 
now. It is the undisputed and indisputable condition of the British 
nation. I refer to all the histories of England on this point, — and 
particularly to Walsh's Appeal. In short, sir, I am utterly dis- 
gusted and nauseated with the 2?rinciples displayed in this detesta- 
ble essay : — to call them arguments, would be to insult the under- 
standings of American Republicans, and to calumniate the departed 
ipirits of our fathers. If such are the real doctrines and senti- 
ments of all those English Whigs, who come here to illuminate us 
benighted Yankees with their " legitimate" logic, I pray God that 
we may speedily have such a revision of the Tariff as will eflectually 
prohibit their further importation, — and that the exclusive privilege 
of manufacturing Whigs, for home-use, may bo secured to our own 
country ! But I do not believe that such are the prevailing senti- 
ments of those Avho seek an asylum amongst us. I firmly beliov# 
that the doctrines of " T. C." are as prolligate a libel upon the great 
majority of those lovers of Liberty who seek our shores, as thej 
are upon the principles of the American Government, and the dic- 
tates of justice and common sense. 

A Pennsylvaniax. 
January/ 3, 1820. 



1 



.■> 



From the American Republican, January 18, 1820. 

I observe that a writer in your paper of tho 28th ult., has ani- 
madverted, with some warmth, on the coupling of the Hartford 
Convention people with those who are opposed to the further exten- 
«on of slavery. I consider his remarks altogether just, in point of 
principle ; and I can help him to a fact, which may serve to fortify 
his positions. There is but one member of the Hartford Conventioa 
BOW in Congress, (and that, in my opinion, i.s one too many,) viz». : 
H. G. Otis, of the Senate. By the Senate Journal of last session, 
pages 321-2, it may be seen that Mr. Otis was opposed to all s-ort. 
e-f restriction upon Slavery in Missouri, — and that he recorded bin 
fiame with those of all the Senators from the Slaveholding States en 
that question ! So much for the Hartford Convention spectre, 
which, has been conjured up to deter Republicans from opposing ihv 
extension of Slavery ! 

Januari/ 12, 1820. 

From the American Republican, January 25, 1820. 
Washingto:;^ City, January 19, 1820. 
The attention of all persons here, for the last few days, has been 
ahnost; exclusively directed toward the Senate Chamber, — on ac- 
count of the discussion which is there going on, relative to the 
restriction of Slavery in Missouri. The iepresentatives desevt 
their seats by scores, to listen to the debates in the Senate; and 
there will probably be no business of general importance transacted 
ia the House, until the Senate shall have disposed of that question. 
The interest which it excites is almost inconceivable by persons at 
a distance. The galleries are literally crowded, and tho lob])r 
thronged with privileged characters, — who, by the rules of the 
lienate, are admitted within the chamber. Among the^e, the Vice 
President has, with great gallantry, reckoned the ladies; in con^rt-- 
^UGnce of which, the audience is of the mo.st flattering descripfioti 
to those who are fond of displaying their eloquence in the presencv 
of the fair. Owe reason for this general attendance has been tl)v 
e«f)ectation of hearing a great speech from ilr. Pinkneyin favor t»f 
Slavery ; (a) but he has not yet taken the floor. The anxiety of tli* 
Eiaveholders to hear what Mr. Pinkney will say, is extraordinary ; 
and it was amusing enough to witness their impatience and vexatiow 

(a) Mr. P. had been an able champion of Freedom in his younger and better 



u 

'luring the long, forcible, and ingenious speeches of Me.--»rs. Roberta 
4nd Morril, against the further extension of that heinous evil. They 
were waiting to hear the congenial notes of a fluent advocate or 
their doctrine ; and, lest they miglit be absent when he rose, had to 
listen, in the meantime, to tlie manly tones of those who vindicate 
the true principles of Republican Freedom. To judge from th^ 
apparent impression, these tones must have been about as grateful 
ro their cars, as the whetting of a mill-saw. It was, indeed, a 
pretty severe tax upon the anticipated pleasure ; and Mr. Randolph 
observed to those around him, that it was something like taking a 
dose of physic for the sake of getting some swest-meats afterwards,' 
A gentleman wlio stood near, remarked, that "from the wry face^ 
they made, it did seem to be a rather unpalatable dose; but he 
hoped, now they had got it down, it might operate, and have a salu- 
tary effect! It is a melancholy and mortifying spectacle, to seethe 
(Jongress of this youthful Republic in grave debate, whether they 
vrill authorize Human Slavery throughout the numerous Common- 
wealths which are hereafter to be attached to the Confederacy. The 
virtuous bosoms of our distant posterity — when the evils of Slavery 
Khali have become more awfully menacing — will throb with shame 
and anguish, when they turn to the pages of our history, and read, 
that in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twen- 
ty, and within half a century from the Declaration of Independence, 
fho Republican Congress of the United States were engaged in an 
trdent discussion on the propriety of permitting the Slavery of 
rheir species to be extended over all the fair domains of their infant. 
j«ettlements, — and that it was a long time extremely doubtful, 
whether they would not sanction the erection of numeruu-! sover- 
eignties, in which man should be authorized to hold his fellow m^n 
as property, (a) This they will have to read — oven if restriction 
Jthould be imposed. But if, unfortunately, the evil should be suf- 
fered to ramify and diffuse itself, like a malignant cancer, through- 
otit the body politic, our descendants must not only turn over the 
pages of our history with l)ittt'r regret, — but they will, too proba- 
bly, find the annals of their own times bedewed with tears of ago- 



(a) That dotibt has since been solved, with a witness. The Gordian koofc 
was not cut with less hesitancy l>_v " Macedonia's niadaian," than has been 
displayed liy the reckless Slave Forrr, on that awful question ; and the haplesg 
poaterily of that power, most likely, will one day have cause both to blush fop 
thoir anccBtors, and tremble for themselves. 



15 

aizing avoc, and traced in the most frightful characters of blood. 
No reflecting man can cast his eyes through the vista of future agca 
and calculate the consequences of a servile population — diffused 
throughout the Republic, and accumulated to desperate millions- — 
without the most awful apprehensions. No man, who loves his ofl- 
*pring, but must fervently pray to Heaven, that ere that day ar- 
rives, his posterity may all become extinct. 

Washington City, January 26, 1820. 
The Senate have been engaged in the debate on the Missouri 
question for a week or more, — and probably will be for a week to 
(5ome. Mr. Finhney has made his long expected speech, to an au- 
dience crowded almost to suffocation. It was able, ingenious, and 
forcibly delivered — as his manner is; but I have no doubt he could 
(lave made a much better one, in every respect, if it had suited to 
tftke the otlier side of the question. The House of Representatives 
yesterday commenced the discussion of the same subject, and in 
all probability it will occupy their attention until the latter end of 
February. What other consequences may grow out of the debate, 
I know not; but I am strongly inclined to the opinion, that convic- 
tion, or a change of sentiment, will not be among the number of its 
♦'ffects upon the audience. 

Washington City, February 2d, 1820. 
Yesterday the question was taken, in the Senate, on Mr. Roberts' 
motion to restrict Slavery in Missouri; and was decided in the 
negative, by a majority {yeas 16, nays 27) which the friends of 
human rights could not have anticipated, at this early period of our 
Republic. Mr. Otis, of Massachusetts, as you will perceive by the 
jreaa and nays, has from some cause changed his ground, since last 
year; but the other four New England States were divided, and 
then* votes Heutralized.(a) Both the Senators from Illinois, also 
voted against restriction — contrary to the known wishes of their 

(a) It is a remarkable and significant fact, — that on this vital subject of «te- 
very — its extension aad protection, — the North is continually divided, and its in- 
fluence neutralieed, — while in every instance whore the question is presented, 
the South is an unit. No Represontntive of the Slave Poicer, — let his private 
•pinion bo what it may, — ever dares tu s:iy a word in opposition to that power. 
The North has many cliques and parties, and fritters away its strength until it 
becomes an easy prey to its wily adversary ; but the South, with all its preten- 
©ons to political principles, knowi no party bat ita despotic master, the SloM 
Pi>wer. 



16 

conatituentg. Thus, you see, the virtuous prmciples of 1787, "whu-h 
were then exerted, icith effect, to stay the spreading of that foul 
blot upon our national escutcheon, have suffered a lamentable de- 
jweciation in the short space of thirty three years. I used to hear, 
and read, as the sentiments of ^/rtrcZ/oZdirs, that Slavery was a curs*? 
which they were anxious to remove, and control, by every possible 
means, — that it was an evil brought on them contrary to their wishes 
— an outrage upon the rights of humanity, which they abhorred, 
and deplored, and were solicitous to remedy as fast as possible, in 
conformity with the spirit of our Declaration of Independence. I 
may also add, that I used to believe these generous and plausibly 
professions; and entertained a confidence that every opportunity 
would be embraced, with alacrity, to put them in practice. I can 
now sa}', however, that I am something older, and something wiser. 
than I then was: but mv asre and my wisdom aremaking sad inroads 
upon the good opinion which I once fondly cherished of those who 
held this specious language. I have lived to discover that the pre- 
tended aversion to slavery is all a sham; that the Slaveholders, ger.- 
orally, have not the least intention, or desire, to relinqui^sh the lux- 
urious gratifications which grow out of a despotic power over their 
sable fellow creatures. If it be a curse — as they Avere wont to term 
it, — it is one to Avliicli they cling with the fondest tenacity. I haw 
lived to hear slavery — not only praised as a comfortable condition. 
bat — vindico.tod by quotations from the Holy Scriptures I And fur- 
ther to show that our Republic is in a hopeful way, I have heard 
our Declaration of Independence burlesqued, and ridiculed, as hold- 
ing absurd doctrine, in the Congress of these United States! Indotd 
1 begin to think, myself, if the House of Representatives should 
give such a vote as the Senate, that the proceedings of 1770 icUl 
j>ro«cnt a rather ridiculous and absurd phraseology. A regard f<»j' 
cotisistcncy, and common sense, Avill require that a revision should 
bo had of that fanciful Document, which we are in the habit of 
reading on the 4th of July. \ The fact is, slavery has so many charm?; 
for those who are eductaed ifi all the indulgencies which it afford*--. 
that it is perfeetly idle for thcni to talk about the evils of involun- 
tary servitude. It i.s a sort of evil which they are very willing («• 
endure, tuj yet: and the probability is, that as wealth, and luxury, 
and avarice increase, the fondness for owning Slaves will incroasv 



lY 

ill even :i n;vcater ratio. (:i) It ia consistent with tlic cliaractor of 
liuinan nature that it sliouhl (h) soJ And -we may reasonably calcu- 
hite upon the arrival of the day, when the obsolete chimeras of our 
Revolutionary Patriots will be ranked with the whims of astrologers 
and soothsayers. These observations are predicated upon the suy- 
position that Slavery shall be permitted to extend over the Terri- 
tories- of the United States. But there is some reason to hope that 
the Representatives of the People will yet arrest the progress of 
this dark tide of pollution, and prevent it from rolling its noxious 
waves over the fair domains of the Republic. It is impossible, 
hoAvever, to say what influence the example of the Senate may have 
upon members of the House ; — especially when it is nearly equally 
divided. 



i 



Washi:jgton City, February 9, 1820. 

The attention of the House of Representatives is so exclusively 
devoted to the question of restricting Slavery, that there has been 
no variety in the proceedings since my last. Nothing else is done, 
or can be done, until this subject is disposed of. ***:♦=* 
There are certainly a considerable number who yet intend to speak. 
The first two days were spent in skirmishing ; and then the regular 
onset was made by. Mr. Taylor's motion [to restrict Slavery]. Those 
who have already spoken are Messrs. Taylor, Clagett, Dowse, Cook 
and Hemphill, in favor of restriction ; and Messrs. Holmes, A. 
Smyth, Reid, Randolph, Hardin, McLane, and Clay against it. Mr. 
Sergeant takes the floor to-day in support of the restriction, — and 
I presume will make an able speech. ' Although INIr. Hemphill had 
been so many years out of the practice of public speaking — and his 
health latterly very delicate — he gave a most ingenious and satis- 
factory exposition of the Constitution, and its bearing on this sub- 
ject. The friends of restriction were much gratified with it ; and 
his manner was so mild, that his opponents could take no ofi'ence at 

*'' (a) A distinguished Slave-holder took occasion, in debate, to remark on the 
evils of the "peculiar institution," by saying that "it was no doubt a bad 
thing for the slave — but a very good thing for the master ."' This is one of tho 
wretched hallucinations of the system; something like tho infatuation of tho 
opium-eater, — fascinating fur a time, but enervating, debasing, and destructive 
in the end. Independently of tho cruel injustice to the slave, tho most hateful 
feature of the enormity is its deteriorating action upon the master, — forcing 
him and his posterity — and all whites located within its pestilent iulluence — 
into a conditiun of lazy, labor despising, vrorthleRs ineficiency. 



18 

liis ."-peccli. Indeed, tlie .-peaking on l>oih sides Las been very i\\>]<^ 
and ingenious ; and, tl.us far, ([uitc temperate. Mr. Holmes -was 
somewhat sarcastic, and illiberal in his insinuations ; but he got his 
change, .'n full, from Mr. Cook, a young member from Illinois. 
Yesterday Mr. Clay made a speech of near four hours, in his best 
manner. It was a fine display of eloquence, — although his argu- 
ments only suited half his audience. There is considerable talk of 
Compromise, out of doors ; but how it will result no one can yet 
form any opinion. There will probably, in the first place, be a fair 
trial of strength ; and then, no doubt, much generalship will be 
used, to reconcile the jarring interests of the contending parties, so 
as to prevent either side from seeming to yield the point. It will 
be well for the nation, if this question can be put to rest, Avithout 
tarnishing its reputation as a liberty-loving and Republican people. 
Be that as it may, I have no doubt Pennsylvania will sustain her 
usual consistency of character. She will always be found among 
the faithful. 



Washington City, February 10, 1820. 

The great Missouri question, on which our national councils arc 
embarked, is still afloat in the ocean of uncertainty, — and no one 
can yet see when or where it is to land. It is buffeted to and fro, 
by the tempest of debate, — sometimes close-hauled on the restrictive 
tack, hugging the fresh breezes of argument, and stemming the 
currents of error, — and sometimes bearing away large before the 
boisterous S(|ualls of declamation — or drifting into danger, on the 
gulf streams of prejudice and infatuation. If an observation is 
not soon had, to ascertain the latitude and longitude, I think the 
crew will be at a loss to know where they are; though I apprehend 
they may safely venture to insert in the log-book, that they are not 
exactly in the Pacific ocean! But to disembark from this allegory: 
There is nothing doing in either House, but debating on this painful 
and degrading question. I call it degrading, because I think it un- 
"worthy of the character of this Nation, to sustain a question of es- 
tablishing Slavery in the new llepublics which are to be added to 
this Confederacy. The friends of Mankind and of Free Govern- 
ment, in all parts of the Ayorld, had expected better things of this 
people. 

On "W'edncsday and Thursday last, Mr. Sergeant made one of the 
ni>rit splendidly argumentative speeches in favor of re-itriction- 



11) 

wliioh I ever heard, lie out-dkl himself; and iistonisUed evt-n the 
most sanguine of his friends. * * * * * * * If Slavery 
must over-\vhelm the boundless Territories of this last asylum of op- 
pressed Humanity, — the friends of Freedom can at least console 
themselves with the reflection, that they have fairly entered their 
solemn and unanswerable protest against it. They have washeil 
their hands of the dreadful enormity ; and they have only to await 
witli patience, and with approving consciences, the ulterior dispen- 
sations of a just and over-ruling Providence. 

Those who have spoken since Mr. Sergeant, are Messrs. Barbour, 
Anderson, Pindall, Pinckney, Rankin, and Cuthbcrt, against re- 
striction; and Messrs. Gross, N. Y., Cushman, Wood, and Hen- 
dricks in favor of it. Mr. Johnson, of Virginia, is entitled to the 
floor to-day ; and many more are waiting for an opportunity to ex- 
I)ress their sentiments. The subject will at least be as fully discuss- 
ed as any that ever was before Congress; and it is to be fervently 
hoped that it may ultimately be disposed of in a manner that may 
not tarnish the high reputation of our young and beloved llepublic. 



DEBATE ON THE MISSOURI BILL. 

On the 16th of February, 1820, the member from CuESTER 
County, Penna., addressed the Chair as follows : — 

Mr. Chairman : — I wish to submit a few remarks on this ques- 
tion; and I trust the Committee will be disposed to extend their in- 
dulgence toward me for a few moments, when they recollect that I 
aTii not in the habit of tresspassing on their patience in this way. I 
am very sensible that I shall not be able to do justice even to my 
own views of the subject; fori am utterly unpracticcd in the busi- 
ness of public speaking ; yet, believing that this is a question of vi- 
tal importance — not Only to the character of this nation, but like- 
Avise to its safety, prosperity, and happiness, — and believing also 
that some erroneous impressions exist, in relation to many of those 
who advocate the amendment before you, — I feel constrained to 
attempt a few observations. 

I shall not presume to undertake an exposition of ambiguous Con- 
stitutional points, after the very able and learned discussions which 
we have had from frcntlemen who have preceded me. Such an at- 
tempt would, in my opinion, be as unnecessary now, as it certainly 
would be presumptuous in me at any time. I shall therefore content 
myself, at this stage of the debate, with ofl"ering some of those views 



1^0 

■\vhicli present tucinsclvcs to a common unJuistiunIing. Auci here, 
sir, as an American — proud and jealous of our national character — 
I trust I may be permitted to say, that it is a source of no little 
mortification to me to see the Congress of these United States, in 
the 44th year of our Independence, seriously sustaining the question, 
whether it he rightfnl and expedient, without an uncontrollable ne- 
cessitt/y to sanction Human Slavery in the new Republics which are 
to be added to this Confederacy ? I had once fondly hoped that 
such a spectacle ^vould never have been exhibited by us, to gratify 
the malignant despots, and their execrable parasites, ^Yho outrage the 
rights of mankind in the old -world, and -who sicken at the idea of 
their conservation here. I had hoped, that we should have perse- 
vered in erecting new Republics upon the true and genuine princi, 
pies of our Government, — excluding Human Slavery with the ut- 
most care and solicitude, •wherever it should be in our power to do so. 
The generous and predominant sentiments of the American people — 
as far as I have had an opportunity to be acquainted with those sen- 
timents — seemed to me to warrant such a hope, and I cannot yet, 
relincjuish the idea. 

We have been told, indeed — and I feel it my duty, as a Reprc- 
scntative of Republican Pennsylvania, to notice the remark, — we 
have been told, Mr. Chairman, that however laudable may be the mo- 
tives of many who arc in favor of restricting Slavery, yet there are 
2)oUtical jugglers behind the scenes, who are making use of the 
proposition and its advocates, as the forlorn hope, and the last des- 
})eratc effort of an expiring Party. Sir, where I am best known, 
it would be needless to say that I have nothing to do with their views, 
their efforts or their hopes, — that I have never had any concern or con- 
nection with that "expiring Party." From my earliest youth, up- 
wards, I have been a Democratic Kepublican; and I leave it to those 
who have once belonged to the aforesaid expiring Party — if there 
be any such here — (a) to develop the schemes of their jugglers. I 
have never been in their secrets: but I cannot holp observing, that 
1 see gentlemen who arc avowed members of that unfortunate Party, 
zealously engaged in the ranks of our opponents, in endeavors to 
defeat this amendment. 1 dn not believe it is a question of Party 
views, with any man who loves his Country, or feels an interest in 
its reputation and permanent welfare. But, Sir, I have always been 

(a) Mr. Holmes, of Maine, made the allusion to the "expiring Party," — 
and he once belonged to that Party ! 



•J I 

tau'^htto bolloVo thiit it whs no part of Iti'publicanism to autli(»vi/.(', 
or even to connive at Slaver)/, in the fonuation of j^overnniont.-^, 
where it could possibly be prevented. 1 will here frankly confess, 
too, that it is cause of pain and regret to be opposed to gentlemen 
for whom I have the highest regard, and with whom it has generally 
been the pride and the happiness of myself and my colleagues to 
co-operate. But on this occasion, I must pursue a course — however 
opposite to that of my Southern friends — which a solemn sense 
of duty renders imperative: and I ask gentlemen to exercise their 
accustomed liberality toward us. If they think it strange that we 
who have generally acted with them, are opposed to them on this 
subject, we can only say, that we think it equally strange, and we 
do most sincerely regret, to find them in opposition to as. 

What is it, Mr. Chairman, which this amendment proposes, — and 
which seems to excite such an unconmion degree of sympathy for 
Missouri ? What is the mighty bugbear that so alarms gentlemen 't 
Is it proposed to bind her hand and foot, and deliver her over to the 
dominion of Despotism? Sir, a man of plain comprehension might 
well be astonished if he were to learn, for the first time, after 
hearing the arguments and forcible appeals of gentlemen, that the 
simple proposition before you, is to enable Missouri to become an in- 
dependent Republican State, and to S'iCure her from the dreadful 
curse of Slavery ! We propose to do that for her which we have 
already done for the States north-west of the Ohio, — and for which 
the citizens of those States will be forever grateful. 

Mr. Chairman, the existence of Slavery seems to be universally 
considered a great moral and political evil in the community. Hon- 
orable gentlemen who have an intimate knowledge of its nature antl 
tendencies, have emphatically termed it a curse and a scourge to 
Society. The ancient and respectable Commonwealth of Virfjinia 
perceived, at an early day, the evils which it would entail upon her, 
— and she protested against the further increase of it. But the 
Government of Great Britain — regardless of the welfare of her Col- 
onies — permitted the temporary interest of a few to endanger the 
prosperity, the happiness, and the safety, of the countless genera- 
tions who were to succeed them. We know that this tremendous 
evil was fastened upon our country by the mercenary, heartless 
policy of an arbitrary commercial Government — not only without 
our agency and consent, but — against our earnest protestations. But 
I beg to ask, Sir. — what is it tt'c arc about to doV I wish every 



• ).) 



iiu'inber vi' tin.- Coinmittco wuuhl seriuu>ly coiisidcr this Question: — 
What As- it Wk are about to do 1- Sir, unless this timeiidment pre- 
vail, — We, the Republican Congress of the United States, are about 
to permit tiie temporary interest of a few individuals {^or feiv they 
are, compared ■with the numbers Avho are hereafter to exist there) to 
entail this same transcendent Curse upon the unborn myriads of our 
Posterity, who will, in future times, inhabit the fertile regions of the 
West ! 

Yes, Sir: as we noiv vieio the conduct of Great Britain in impos- 
ing or authorizing Slavery in some of our ancient Commonwealths, 
so will the future citizens of those Western Republics regard this 
Congress, — unless Ave interpose to stay the progress of the desola- 
ting evil. If wc suffer this pernicious population to ramify and 
difi'use itself throughout the new States to be formed in our Territo- 
ries, their citizens will one day direct their agonized views -to the 
proceedings of this body, and deplore the policy which sanctioned 
their dreadful destiny. Thev will find themselves doomed to evils, 
by our connivance and authority, which it will be vain and hopeless 
to attempt to remove. 

Will any gentleman of Virginia, or Maryland, ?'-dy that it would 
not liave been a happy circumstance for their own States, if the 
early settlors had been prevented from introducing Slaves among 
them? And \\\\\ it not be ci[u:il1y l)oncficial to exclude them from 
the Western Commonwealths 'i Can there be a doubt about this 't 
No, Sir — there cannot. Then now is the time to interfere; and it 

is Now, oK NEVKK. 

But it is objected, tlmt wc are presuming to judge for the people 
of Missouri. Sir, I consider that wc are interested in this (question, 
as well as the people of Missouri. "We are judging {or our selves, -ah 
well as for them; and we are enal)led, by melancholy, dear-bought 
experience, to judge correctly. Cientlemen have acknowledged, 
that they would advise an exclusion of Slavery, — because they know 
it is an inveterate and incurable evil. /Rut, although we know the 
future citizens of Missouri would be grateful for the restriction, it 
is not from an officious disposition to meddle with concerns which are 
foreign to us, that we urge it. No, Sir. If the Missourians were 
to be a separate people, it would I)e nothing tons, how many Slaves 
they had, or wliat regulations they atlopted. Although we might 
Avish them to enjoy Republican Freedom, it Avould be none 
of our business Avhat they Avere, or how they Avere governed. » 



2:1 



lint, Mr. Ch;iinii;iii, llicy arc to form <a coiistitneiit part 
of this confederacy; tliey are to become members of our political 
Family. They are to be co-partners in our great National Firm: 
and arc not we interested in the character and condition of those 
who propose to join us ? Have tve no right to judge of the fitness 
of those who wish to participate in our affairs? We have embarked 
in the business of Free Government. We have recognized the sub- 
lime doctrines of the Rujhts of Man, in our own States, as far as 
existing circumstances would permit: And do Ave not owe it to con- 
sistency — to our high character, and lofty pretensions — nay, to our 
welfare and safety — to carry this recognition of sound principles 
into all the new Governments erected under our authority, and whicli 
arc to join us in the magnificent scheme ? Do not the wise and the 
virtuous — the friends of Freedom and of Mankind, throughout the 
world — anxiously expect it at our hands ? Shall wo blast the hopes 
of those Philanthropists, who regard our country as the great Asy- 
lum — the last and only refuge of Liberty, and rational Government ? 
Forbid it, Heaven! We are solemnly bound — not only to secure 
our oivn welfixre, but — to provide, as far as we can, for that of our 
Posterity. When we knoio that the welfare of our descendants in 
?*Iis30uri, as well as in the United States generally, requires the 
restriction of Slavery, — how can we reconcile it to our duty, to per- 
mit the unnecessary introduction and dilTusion of an evil, which 
we are sure will be the Scourge of countless generations ? 

But, say gentlemen, the people now in Jfissouri may not choose 
to exclude Slavery, — and they have a right to judge for themselves, 
in this matter. And pray. Sir, have not this Congress a right, also, 
to judge for themselves, whether it will be for the good of the Union, 
to admit new members who hold mankind as Slaves? If the people 
of this nation — or a great majority of them — believe, as I have no 
doubt they do, that it would be pernicious aTid dangerous to add new 
States of this description to the Union, — have they not a right, and 
a discretionary power, to exclude such States ? If they have 
not, then they arc in a most deplorable condition. They 
are then deprived of the right of self-preservation — a right 
inherent in all bodies. Sir, we have the right of self-preserva- 
tion : We have the right to judge of the means of our safety : 
and it is our solemn duty to exercise it, — and to guard against 
evil, whenever it is in our power to do so. It is our duty to 



21 

take care that the Repuhlic receive no <letrimeiit: and believing that 
it would be highly detrimental to this Union, and destructive of the 
first principles of our Government, to sanction the creation of new 
members with a power to establish Human Slavery where it is not 
absoluti'h/ necessary^ I feel bound to oppose it. I should deem it a 
dereliction of duty, on ray part, to connive at such an evil, for which 
I could not hope to be pardoned — either here, or hereafter. 

I am perfectl}' satisfied that the clause of the Constitution which 
says, " new States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union" 
gives us the right to judge whether they ought to be admitted. We 
must exercise our discretion, and ascertain to our satiifaotion, wheth- 
er such ''new States" are of a character to increase the strength 
and promote the welfare of this Union, — or whether they may not 
endanger our safety and happiness : for I contend we have a right 
to consult our safety, and to pursue our own happiness. The De- 
claration of Independence is surely correct when it asserts f/t/iS right? 
notwithstanding some of its doctrines have been ridiculed and denied 
on this floor, (a) as they once were — and probably yet are — in the 
British Parliament. Sir, suppose the Island of Cuba should become 
an independent State, and should apply for admission into this 
Union, with all her Slaves and foreign habits ; are we bound to ad- 
mit her ? (b) No one will pretend that we are. "We should judge 
for ourselves, whether it would be for our good to receive her ; and 
I, for one, should very much doubt it, under any Treaty stipulation ; 
for I hold the good old Kepublican doctrines relative to the treaty- 
making power. And yet we mnild admit her, — because Congress 
may admit new States. Sir, I have not the slightest doubt on the 
subject of our discretionary powers. 

The sparse population now in Missouri^ may not yet perceive the 
evils of Slavery, and may, therefore, be willing to indulge in the 
dangerous gratifications which it affords, until it is too late. So it 
was in South Candina, and Georgia. Those States wished for more 

(ii) Mr. liand<jlph, on this occiision, inJulj^ed in the most pungent ridicuU 
of the I)uohiration of InJopcndence, ftnd pronounced its doctrine of Eijuiil 
liiglits to be an absurd "fanfaronade of metaphysical abstractions." 

(b) This supposed case, of Culut, was atlduced under the idea of its being 
one of extreme iiiiprubability; and yet the Slur'-, r.nar lias already grown t<o 
rampant, and gra^pinj;, as to avow its desire, and desi;;n, of annexing tliat 
Island— witli all its iiatoful Institutions, and pestilent population — to our glori. 
on- Kepublic 



! I 



■2Fy 



tSlaves. Thoy iusistcil on the privilege (whicli, unhappily for them- 
selves and the whole nation, was conceded to them,) of importing 
that description of persons for twenty/ years after the adoption of 
the Federal Constitution. But, Mr. Chairman, what do they say 
now? Do they not see their error? Nay — do they not feel it, 
and deplore it ? And are wc never to profit by woful experience V 
Are we to go on — wilfully and perversely blindfold — in this fatal 
career — until Slavery shall be extended over three-fourths of the 
Republics in this Confederacy ? I hope not. I pray to God that 
we may have the virtue and the firmness to restrain its progress, be- 
fore wc are irretrievably lost in the dreadful abyss. 

Some of the learned gentlemen of the bar, who oppose this amend- 
ment, have exercised their inircnuitv in subtle distinctions and tech- 
nical rules of deduction, borrowed from their OAvn profession. They 
were, no doubt, very applicable to the subject ; and, as far as I un- 
derstood them, I listened with pleasure, — I hope with profit. They 
also borrowed some of their illustrations from my profession ; and 
there I think I understood them better. But, Mr. Chairman, I 
could by no means assent to their correctness, when they came with- 
in my province. I trust they were more correct while on their own 
grounds. Gentlemen compared the evil of Slavery to a malignant 
poison ; and they called upon us to dilute it, by diffusion, in order to 
render it more tolerable. Sir, it is a malignant poison: or rather, 
I would say, it is a malignant disease in the body politic^ whose dele- 
terious ravages are extended with all the certainty and inveteracy 
of specific contagion. It is more loathsome than the small-pex 
itself; and its desolating influence ought, by all means, to be con- 
fined within the smallest possible limits. Would you diffuse conta- 
ffioii in a community, by way of relief? Would yen disseminate 
small-pox, with a view to dilute its malignity, or to mitigate its ef- 
fects ? No, sir ! That would be quackery without a parallel in the 
darkest ages of the profession. Sir, the immortal Ordinance of 
1787, respecting the Territories north-west of the Ohio, was the 
grand Jennerian discovery in relation to the malady of Slavery 
in our country ; and I trust avc shall continue to avail ourselves of 
the blcssinir. The Congress of '87 introduced a sort of political 
vaccination into the Constitutions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, 
which effectually secured those States from the evil ; and I am also 
for extending the same salutary process to our infant t-istcr, 



Minsoin-i. (a) And ^\h\'' l.s it to injure ker ? Is it to mutilate or 
disfigure her? No, Sir I it is to secure her health, and to preserve 
her beauty. Mr. Chairman, should you deem these observations to 
savor unduly of the shop, I must plead, in mitigation of your cen- 
sure, the precedent set by the gentlemen of the green satchel. 

Much has been said, Mr. Chairman, on both sides, about religion 
— as connected with this question. I shall not adduce religious ar- 
guments in aid of my opinions, — because I am well aware that the 
pacred name of religion has been too often improperly used for po- 
litical purposes. I have, indeed, heard the benevolent principles of 
Christianity urged, with unanswerable force, in my estimation, 
against the further extension of this crying enormity : and yet I 
have also recently seen, with feelings which I shall not attempt to 
describe, the holy Scriptures cited as authority -n fivorof the prac- 
tice of holding mankind as Slaves ! But I am noi disposed to min- 
gle politics with religion. I am for keeping Church and State sepa- 
rate, on all occasions. I cannot, however, help noticing a remark 'f 
the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Pinchneg). I understock 
hi 11 to say, that Slavery could not be inconsistent with religion, be- 
cause the Deity permits a large portion of the human race to behild 
in bondage. I am sure the gentleman did not reflect on the extent 
to which such an argument would go, or he would not have advanced 
it. If that doctrine Avcrc correct, it would go to sanction every evil 
that is permitted to exist in society; and we should have little rea- 
son to smile, or be surprised, at the quaint determination of the 
Liberty-loving fathers and founders of Ncav England, — who, we are 
told, resolved that they would be goTcrned by the laws of God until 
they could enact others better suited to their condition. But, Sir, I 
must beg leave to say, that the religion which sanctifies the un- 

(a) The sad consequences of neglecting to vaccinate Missouri icith the Ordi- 
nance oT 'ST, are now Imt tun ]):iinl\illy apparent to all the world. Some ig- 
norant, inol-hanly people couteutlcd, at the time, that she was too far North to 
1)0 iu any danger of taking the infection (just as they say now of her neighb:r 
Kansas.) — and the wily Slave Power pressed the idea upon the credulous, in 
order to screen her from that prophylactic operation. But nvic, our offended 
Bcnses inform us — even in the distance — how frightful are the scars, and how 
rcpulsivd the odor, of that hideous and persistent calamity. Instead of proud. 
]y taking hor position, like a pure and wholesome member of the family, along 
Bido of her nolde sisters north of the Ohio, — she has sunk into a broader of 
African Slaves, and a haiborcrof " ]>ordcr Ruffians" — reeking with the conta- 
gion nf human misery and inhuman vices, — n tit subject for a moral quarantine 
ground, ^.Ta political La/.arclto. 



liT 



necessary existence of Slaveri/, is not the religion which we profess, 
in Pennsylvania. 

It has been said, Mr. Chairman, in opposition to this amendment, 
that all the citizens of the United States have a riiiht in the Terri- 
tory west of the Mississippi, — inasmuch as it was purchased with 
their money ; that therefore Congress cannot prevent citizens from 
removing thither with their Slaves and other property. But it is 
admitted that the people of Missouri may, themselves, exclude Sla- 
very. Now, if it be a right which belongs to a citizen of the United 
States, as such, to remove there with every description of property, 
how comes it that his slaves may be thus excluded ? Can sixty 
thousand people, by forming a State Government in one of your 
Territories, abridge the rights of citizens of the United States 'i 
W hen the public lands are thrown into the market, can these Mis- 
sourians exclude all purchasers Avho Avish to come there with their 
Slaves? It Avould seem that they can : and this, to my mind, con- 
clusively shows that the right to carry Slaves into the ncAV States is 
not a right of an United States citizen, as such. But again : it is 
generally conceded, that Congress may prohibit Slavery in a Terri- 
tory ; and yet, if holding and carrying Slaves were one of the rights 
of a citizen, as aforesaid, such prohibition would seem to be a more 
direct infringement of that right, — because the Territory is the 
common property of the people of the United States. My inference 
therefore is, that the right to carry Slaves into a new State or Terri- 
tory, is not a federal right. I consider the right — if it may be so 
called — of hoklmg mankind as Slaves, to be a local one, derived 
from those State Institutions where Slavery is already permitted. 

Mr. Chairman, I cannot but view this ardent desire to introduce 
Slavery into Missouri, as somewhat analogous to the mania for 
Banking, which lately prevailed to such an unfortunate degree, in 
some of the States. A number of speculators were so infatuated 
w^ith the prospect of gain by banking, that no argument could pre- 
vail with them to pause, or to calculate the dangers of the scheme. 
They persisted in the delusion until they had well nigh ruined the 
country, — and entailed upon it a vitiated currency, which can only 
be eradicated by a long period of suffering and privation. So will 
it be — but with consequences a thousand fold more aggravated — if 
Slavery be permitted in Missouri. The people of that State, or 
their posterity, will find, when it is too late, that by yielding to the 
seductions of a fallacious temporary interest, there will bo entailed 



2S 

upon tlieni a perpetual curse, — an evil witLout a remedj ; and, what 
is more to the purpose of the present argument, an evil which -will 
not merely affect themselves, but the Avhole Union. It will impair 
the strength and existing relations of the Union : and, therefore, 
Pennsylvania is deeply interested in preventing such an evil. Sir, 
Pennsylvania has a deep interest in the perpetuity of this Union. 
Her locality — her territory, stretching from the Delaware to the 
Ohio, and partaking partly of the character of an Atlantic, and 
partly of that of a Western State ; her habits and her attachments, 
all afford a strong pledge of her devotion to the Union ; and she 
cannot fail to be sensildy alive to every measure calculated to affect 
the bonds of our Confederacy. She regards the unnecessary exten- 
sion of Slavery in the new States, as a measure of that description, 
as a most pernicious and dangerous measure. It is, in her estima- 
tion, subversive of the true principles of the Constitution, — incom- 
patible with the high character of our Government, and repugnant 
to every dictate of sound policy. Nor can these views be inter- 
preted to the disparagement of Pennsylvania. Are they not consis- 
tent with the eternal and immutable laws of Truth and Justice ? Do 
they not accord with the established character of Pennsylvania ? 
What is her character? Gentlemen have taken occasion to eulogize 
their respective States, Avith great justice and eloquence; and lean 
see no reason why I may not attempt, in my humble style, to tell the 
simple, honest truth of mine. Is she aspiring, or ambitious ? Does 
she assume more than becomes her, as a member of this Union ? The 
honorable Speaker has told you — and told you truly — that she is 
" unassuming." Is she not mild, and just, and humane, in her pol- 
icy? Consult her Institutions. Is she not Republican? Yes, Sir! 
She presents to you, in her sons, a plialanx of Republicans, whose 
firmness and inilexible devotion to the true princij)les of Liberty, 
may ehallengc comparison with those of any of her sisters. Is she 
hostile to her sistei-s of the South? J/osiilc, Sir! On the contrary, 
she entertains the warmest affection for them. She rejoices in their 
prosperity, and sympathizes with their adversity. When calamities 
overtake tlicm, she feels, and she acts, as becomes her, — as becomes 
a true and virtuous member of this political family. If proof were 
demanded, I need only refer you to her proceedings at this moment, 
in relation to a recent and dreadful calamity in the South, (the fire 
at Savannah). Sir, they are worthy of lirr: and I take pleasure in 
adding, that in the district from A\hich I liavc the honor to come, 



2y 

every township in the respectable County wliero I reside, has a com- 
mittee now employed in procuring relief for the sufferers. Mr- 
Chairman, I mention not these things vauutingly. I ^YOuld disdain 
to do SO. It would be offensive to the generous spirits engaged in 
the laudable work. I notice them solely to show that Pennsylvania 
is anything but hostile, — that she possesses and cherishes the kind- 
est feelings toward the South. Is she hostile to Southern politics ? 
Let the unostentatious annals of her political career furnish the an- 
swer. No, Sir. It has been her pride to act in concert with the 
Republicans of the Southern States. Her sons have marched with 
them, shoulder to shoulder, in the various strucrgles for political 
rights, and national honor ; and Avhen some of her temporarily mis- 
guided sisters have been vexed at her undeviating course, they have 
peevishly exclaimed — -'Pennsylvania is partial to Virginia: She 
is devoted to the interests of the South I" Sir, those idle reproach- 
es moved her not. She regarded them as the ebullitions of vexation 
and disappointment. Her object was the establishment of those 
great political principles, in the administration of our Government, 
which has made it the envy and admiration of the world. In every 
national contest for principles, or for safety, her aid has been im- 
ceasing, — her support invariable; and amid all the difficulties which 
the Government has found, from foreign foes, or Avayward domestic 
factions, she has been uniforndy known as "faithful Pennsylvania." 
Away, then, with every insinuation that Pennsylvania may, or can 
be cajoled, or influenced on this question, by the spirit which erst 
displayed itself at Eartfonl,—oY any other unhallowed spirit. Sir, 
any imputation of the sort— from any (juarter whatever— is as 
groundless as it is illiberal, and she repels it with scorn. She acts 
from the noblest motives that can animate the human breast,— and 
from a clear and thorough conviction that the adoption of the pro- 
position before you is essential to the welfare, the honor, and the 
safety of thie Republic. The unanimous voice of her Legislative 
Councils, on this subject, attests her deep sense of its importance; 
and I trust her Rcpresoutatives here will respond with fidelity to her 
wishes. 



Washington City , i chruary 28, 1820. 

The contest on the 3Iissouri question has at length assumed a 
somewhat different shape: Or rather, the debate in Committee of the 
whole, on the motion to restrict Slavery, has been superseded by 



the return of the Bill from the Senate, for the admission of Maine, 
with the Missouri Bill tacked to it, — and a sort of Compromise an- 
nexed, relati\e to Slavery in the remaining Territories. The Sena- 
tors, in their wisdom have discovered that tlu^ir Constitutional Scru- 
ples do not extend JVorth of the parallel of 06 degrees and 30 min- 
utes I P/ovided always, iha.t Shivery be permitted in Missouri! ! 
This Bill was returned to the House on Friday last ; and, according 
to the Rules, it took precedence of the order of the day, on Satur- 
day morning. It was immediately moved, by Mr. Taylor, that the 
House disagrte to the amendments of the Senate. A motion which 
superseded this, was made to commit the Bill and amendments to a 
Committee of the whole House ; which was negativ«d by a large 
majority. A member [Simkins, of S. Carolina) then rose, and ear- 
nestly deprecated the taking of the question, to disagree, immedi- 
ately, — as he declared he had not had time to examine the subject 
sufficiently I He therefore moved to postpone it until Tuesday ; 
and the House could not decorously refuse a request of that sort — 
when a member had courage enough to make it ; although it was 
so notoriously familiar to the rest of the body. Such maneuvres 
always enable a minority to procure delay, in a deliberative assem- 
bly. Considerable warmth was manifested, by several members, 
relative to the conduct of the Senate, in coupling the two subjects 
of Maine and 3Iissouri : so much so, that the Speaker had to inter- 
fere, in order to preserve that comity of style, which is due from one 
branch toward the other, when alluded to in debate. The fact is, a 
majority of the House had thoughts, on the occasion, which it would 
not have been exactly m ordfr to have expressed! Yesterday, the 
question came up again, — when Mr. Randolph got the floor, and oc- 
cupied the chief part of the day in a curious, desultory speech, full 
of anecdote and humor, and altogether characteristic of that singu- 
lar genius, (a) After he had concluded, there was a strong indica- 
tion of impatience for the question; but old Mr. Jihea, of Tennes- 
see, rose, and said, gentlemen need'nt caJl out ^'question," — for he 
was determined to make a speech. There then began to be a very 
rapid and general vacation of seats. It was growing late ; and — 

(a) Mr R. made himself very merry over the Senate's idea of limiting the 
sin of Slavenj to the latitude of 30 degrees 30 minutes. lie said a conscien- 
tious man would bo much embarrasstd, in locating himself near the prescribed 
boundary; for, if he was a Slaveholder, he could not ascertain whether he was 
a Sinner, or not, without the aid of a Hadley's Quadrant, and a clear ekyl 



as Goldsmith said of Burke — while Mr. Rhea thought of convin- 
cing^ the House thouglit of dining. After one or two unsuccessful 
motions to adjourn, it was finally carried, before the old gentleinQh 
got through with his discourse. The debate will be resumed to-day. 

Post-script. Wednesday Evening, Feb. 23. 

The question was this afternoon taken, in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, on the motion to disagree to the amendments of the Sen- 
ate, to the Maine Bill, — and carried by a majority of 21 votes. The 
responsibility of this extraordinary measure will now be very fairly 
and completely thrown upon that body : and it remains to be seen 
whether they can — in the face of this nation — adhere to the course 
which they have thought proper to take. 

Additional 1\ S. February 25. 

At the conclusion of the forty first Speech on the Missouri Bill, 
the question was this day taken, in Committee of the Whole, on Mr. 
Taylor's amendment, to restrict Slavery in the new State ; and it 
was oarred by a majority of 19 votes. What the majority may be, 
when it comes before the House, is uncertain, — probably not quite 
so great. 

Washington City, 3Iarch 1, 1820. 

It is hoped that the "long agony" (of debate, at least) respecting 
the Missouri question, in tiie House ©f Representatives, is almost 
over. On Monday, the House sat from 11 o'clock in the morning 
until nearly 10 o'clock at night, — engaged the whole time in the 
most ardent discussion: and yesterday morning, the contest was 
renewed with fresh vigor, and continued until after 8 o'clock in the 
evenino-. — when the Bill, containing the restriction on Slavery, was 
ordered to be engroesed for a third reading by a majority of nine 
votes. W^hether the battle is to be fought over again to-day, on the 
passage of the Bill, is uncertain : but one might hope that Spring 
would be permitted to open upon the labors of the House with a 
more at^reeable aspect. The debate on the Missouri Bill commenced 
on Tuesday, the 25th of January ; it has occupied the entire atten- 
tion of the House ever since ; and to-day, the first of March, the 
question will be put — Shall the Bill pass ? If this does not prove 
that Congress is a deliberative body, it will certainly prove that 
sufiicient time is taken for deliberation. 

The Hall has a very fine appearance when lighted up, at 
night. It appears like a splendid Theatre. * * * The galle- 



:^2 



lies were crowdcil with auditors; and it wu.s a most interesting spec- 
tacle, to see a small majority of the Representatives of a great na- 
tion, at a late hour in the night, contending -with a powerful and 
vehement opposition, and steadily persevering in support of the 
national character — tlie riglits of the human race — and the pros- 
perity and happiness of unborn millions. Should it be the unfor- 
tunate lot of the Missourians, and the other citizens who are to in- 
habit the regions of the West, to be afflicted with the curse of *S'/a- 
very, — they Avill at least have the consolation to know that a most 
determined stand was taken, by a large portion of Congress, to 
avert the evil. Should even a Compromise take place, — or any 
other measure be adopted, which may finally defeat the noble views 
of the steadfast friends of restriction, — history will still have to re- 
cord tlie fact — to the honor of human nature — that there were many 
who adhered with an unshaken, and unshaheaUe fidelity, to their 
magnanimous purpose, — in tlic face of the most tempestuous me- 
naces, and in opposition to the most eloquent and impassioned de- 
clamation. The vaulted dome re-echoed with threats of blood and 
carnage — disunion and civil war — and all the terrifying figures 
which heated imaginations could conjure up. But the firm and the 
faithful calmly pursued their course, — resolved upon discharging the 
-solemn duties committed \.o tliem, and leaving the event to Ilim who 
controls the elements, and overrules the fury of even the proudest 
among the lords of ci-eation. These threats of disunion — so ab- 
horrent to every patriotic mind, and so at variance with the parting 
injunctions of the Father of our country — have become disgrace- 
fully common, in latter times : but it is to be hoped that the good 
sense of the nation will frown the preachers of such detestable her- 
esy into merited contempt. It is the glory of the Middle States — 
among which Pennsylvania stands pre-eminent — to have eschewed 
this desperate folly; and to have controlled, and moderated, the 
madness of the extremities. During tlio times of embargo, an<J 
war, misguided factionists in the East cried out for disunion, and 
encouraged treason; but thciniluencc of the Middle States arrested 
their phrenzied career. Now, the same odious clamor is raised by 
sundry Hotspurs of the tSouth ; andjiore, again, we may hope that 
the steady patriotism of the Middle States will exert its wonted 
salutary inlhience, and sustain the harmony and integrity of our 
Union, until the sober sense of the poiiplo in all parts of the coun- 



:v:\ 



try f^liall .silence the raviiiijjs of infuriated zealots, (a) The honest 
and virtuous mass of the American people cannot ])e yet prepared 
for the mischiefs -which arc so intcmperately threatened by ambi- 
tious individuals. Just and legitimate acts of Government never 
yet produced commotions among an enlightened and virtuous peo- 
ple ; and Americans cannot be already so deteriorated, as to con- 
sider a restriction on the further extension of Human Slavery, an 
act either of injustice, or impolicy. It would be a libel on the sons 
of the men of '76, to entertain such an idea for a single moment. 

Postscript. 3iarch 3. 

The die is cast. 3Iissouri is admitted to the privilege of form- 
ing a Constitution and State Government, without the restriction of 
Sluvcri/ ! Senate rejected the restrictive clause, in the Missouri 
bill, and sent it back with an additional section, to exclude Slavery 
in the Territories north of 36 degrees and 30 minutes. 

The Committee of Conference (b) recommended to the House to 
adopt these amendments ; on which condition Senate had agreed to 

(a) The former preachers of disunion, down East, pretty soon discovered 

— when they came to reflect, and calculate — that their prosperity as a people 
would not probably bo mucl> enhanced by abandoning our glorious old Conf«d- 
oracy : whereupon they concluded to abido by the "sober secotid thought." 

So, on the otker hand, every intelligent person is now aware, that the noisy 
vaporing of the Slave Power, down South, is all a /S/mw,— intended merely to 
scare the servile remnants of obsolete Parties, and squabbling factions, in tho* 
North. The Slave Power is an Unit, and tolerates no dissenting factions in its 
own dominions: but it encourages feuds and divisions, elsewhere, the better to 
manage them. Yet while that cunning Oligarch;/ thus threatens, it knows 
full well— none can know it better,— that the "peculiar Institution" would not 
be safe for one hour, under the influences resulting from a dissolution of the 
Union. Catch that wily Power voluntarily encountering the perils of disimi- 
on ! Why should it— so long as it can wield at pleasure the physical energies 
of the Free States? which it does— has done— and will bo apt to do, until 
Brain ceases to govern Muaclc, or common sense shall become epidemic in the 
Masses. 

(b) The Committee of Managers, on the part of the Ilouse, were ^Messrs. 
Holmes, of -Elaine, Taylor, of N. Y., Lowndes, of S. Carolina, Far/cer, of Mass. 
and Einsey, of New Jersey. 

This Committee was not exactly a fair one,— although four of them were 
from Free States. Holmes was rather pro-slavery, and moreover directly inter- 
ested in getting Maine admitted ; Kinscy was a Dough-facc,~&n^ went over, 
when the time came. Lotcndcs, of course, went with the Senate : and Taylor 
and Parker were left in the minority. 

The Managers for the Senate were Messrs. Thomas, of Illinois, [the mover of 
■Uc Comj^romisc], Finkney of Md., and Barbour, of Va. Six, of fh^ cir/ht, were 



niliiiit Maine into ihc I. niuii. TJien taiiic the trviim niuinciit. 
Tlic most ])atliotic a))peiil3 Avorc made to niombcrs ; the liorrors of 
disunion were depicted on one hand, — andtlie blessings of harmony 
portrayed on the other. Some wavering friends of restriction dis- 
appeared from the house, and three or four went over to the other 
side ; and when the question was taken, there was a majority of 
three for acceding to the amendments of Senate ! I am proud, how- 
ever, to Bay, that notwithstanding the threats, and the appeals to 
the fears and the feelings, — honest Pennsylvania — ^'faithful Penn- 
sylvania' stood firm as a rock, (a) Two of her members had been 

under tho control of the Slave Power ! It is a curious, and significant circum- 
stance, in this struggle between the two branches of Congress, that when the 
House refused to concur with the Compromise am cndment of the Senate, that 
body proceeded, as usual, to insist ; but the wily .Slareholders, on this occa- 
sion, thought to steal a march on the Free States, by insisting on thai portion 
e»/y, which admitted Missouri without r estriction, — and thus quietly aiming to 
evade the restriction of Slavery in the other Territories, North of thirty-six 
degrees, thirty minutes '. Accordingly, on # motion of a Viryinia Senator, it 
was "Resolved, That the Senate insist on their amendment, containing pro- 
visions for the admission of Missouri into the Union.'' But Senator Rohais, 
of Pennsylvania, was too wide awake for that dodge to succeed, — and prumptly 
followed up the Virginia resolution, with tho following : 

"Rcsohxd, That tho Senate insist on their other amendment, prohiMiing the 
further introduction of SI avery into the Territories of the I'nitcd States." 

A decent regard for appearances, required the adoption of tho second mcm- 
1)cr of the Compromise, — when the first portion had Just been carried : and so 
tho Senate insisted on the whole amendment, — and the House succumbed. 
The famous Compromise was thus J'orccd on the Xorth, by tho Slave intorst, — 
aided by a few dough-faced adherents ; to be wantonly violated — nnder the plea 
of "Squatter Sovereignly'' — when it suited the base purposes of intriguing Pol- 
iticians. 

(a) Of the 23 Representatives of Pennsylvania, of that day, the following 
named ill resisted the extension of Slavery into Missouri — and at! Fnc Territory 
— on any pretext, or Compromise, whatsoever, viz : 

l>odcn, Gross, ^laclay, Patterson, 

l)arlington, Hemphill, Marcliand, Pliilson, 

]>enison, Hibsliman. K. .Aluoro, Rogers, 

Edwards, llicster. .S. Moore, Sergeant, 

Forrest, Hostetter, Murray, Tarr, 

Wallace. 
Of the above, 17 were old-fashioned Democrats ; and 1 (whose names are in 
italics) were called Federalists. J\}rtics had not, thai, Ijcen ao drilled, in tho 
old "Keystone State," as to make fealty to the Slave Poncr n tost of Vcmocracy. 
In trulli, Slavery, at that time, was scarcely regarded— even at the South — aa 
being ':sscnliaUy a "Democratic luslitution." 



:ir> 



v>|)j)c).si'<l t»» the rostrletloii from tin' I>i<//nin'iuj (vi/.: .Mefi.*rs. Eald- 
win and Fullerton — tliougli tlie hitter voted for it, until the pinch 
came) ; but the remainder were not to be moved, even in that try- 
ing moment, — for it was an awful crisis. Every thing horrible was 
threatened, with the most determined aspect of menace. One mem- 
ber fainted twice, while pleading for the Compromi&e. Tbo Bills 
[for Maine, and Missouri] were signed this afternoon, and carried to 
the President, for his signature. Thus has Con(^vcss ^jossibli/ avert- 
ed evils, threatened by distempered men of the Slaveholding States, 
and certainh/, in my opinion, humbled the proud character of our 
Republic, in the eyes of the world. 



WASirixnTON City, April 5, 1820. 

The House of Representatives has been occupied, for two days, 
in discussing Mr. Clay's Resolutions, relative to the late Treaty 
with Spain. It is not calculated, I believe, that any positive mea- 
sure will grow out of them — even if adopted ; nor is it known that 
any good can result from the discussion of them. They seem to be 
a sort of negative censure of the Administration, for yielding up 
the disputed province of Texas, in the late negociation ; and it is 
very evident that the supporters of the Resolutions are anxious to 
defeat the ratification of the Treaty, and to re-assert our claim to 
the country west of the Sabine. It is also sufficiently apj)areut 
from what has transpired, that a number of those who desire Texas, 
want it for the express purpose of erecting Slaveholding States out 
of its Territories. It Avas said, in debate, that great injustice had 
been done to the Soutli : that ihe largest portion of Louisiana iiad 
been given up to the non-slaveholding States; and the most valuable 
portion of the remainder had been ceded to a foreign power I After 
such an avowal as this, it is idh- and ridiculous for those gentlemen 
to talk about tlie evils of slavery, — and about colonization of the 
negroes — and to express a wish that the Slaves cmihl all be removed 
from our country. It is no such thing. Notwithstanding the 
empty verbiage which we have heard, / venture to jyrediet, that the 
settled policy of the slaveholding States will he, to prevent the admis- 
sion of any new non-slaveholding State into this Union, unless a 
slaveholding State shall be admitted, to balance it. ^Vithout any 
pretensions to the gift of Proi)hecy, I fearlcs?ly apju-al to the future 
history of this Government, for the confirmation of niv prediction. 
So much for vy 'pinion of tho sincerity with which Shivcholdip.g 



3G 

gontleinen Jochilm against tluit abominuLle stain upon our country. 
Instead of viewing Slavery as a curse (as they profess—or rather 
have professed), and rejoicing in the erection of new Republics 
which shall be secured from that curse,— they regard the multipli- 
cation of non-slavchokling States as an evil — as an act of injustice 
to themselves, — unless Slavery shall at the same time be extended 
to an equal degree! (a) Was ever such mockery of principle ex- 
hibited under the sun ? And this, too, in a young country — enjoy- 
ing a free Republican Government! Freedom, it seems, must not 
be permitted to extend farther, unless Slavery go with it, pari passu! 
And why? Because, forsooth, it would be an act of injustice to 
those who pretend to consider Slavery as a great curse! Being dis- 
gusted even to loathing, by these developments of ulterior views, — 
I, for one, have no great appetite for additional Territories. I can 
scarcely wislwto see new free States erected under our banners, if 
they must necessarily give birth to a corresponding number of slave- 
holding States, — and thus make additional blots on our already 
checquered escutcheon. If those are to be the terms, I think we 
have States enough ; and I must distrust the policy of those who 
arc so anxious to give us the province of Texas : 

"Timeo Danaos, et donafercntes." 

I fear the Grecians, and the gifts they bring, (b) 



(a) So emphatically has this view been confirmed, that we have all seen a 
servile Administration— after a noisy bravado about "fijly-four forty, orfiyht,'' 
— quietly send a Pro-Slavery Agent to nerfotiatc aivay the disputed Territory, 
lest it should be formed into one or more Free States! Nest, we find it coins 
valiantly to war with poor, unfortunate Mexico — on a false pretence, and with- 
out authority — in order to procure ncic fields for Wxq^' peculiar Institution." 
Does any body suppose that the Shirc Power of the country would have sus- 
tained the Mexican war. for a single moment — if it had been Ukchj to acquire 
Territory for Freedom? No one. I think, has yet been seen, outside of an 
asylum for the feeble-minded, wlio \y as quite that far gone in credulous sini. 
plicity. 

(h) ITcro end tho contemporary licmarls (as published in the American He- 
publicfDi) on tlio memorable cflbrt. in 1820, to prohibit the establishment of the 
" peculiar Institution" in the young State of Missouri. That effort — as all the 
world is aware — was unsuccessful. The wily Slave Powa- — by scaring, or 
wheedling, a few Northern " Dough-faces" (a« they were scornfully dubbed, 
by John Randolph, after they had been thus made use of), — and bj urging a 
specious C't»//J7);ymi.sr, which has since turned out to be a shameless ^/>au(i — 
triumphed by a email majority ; and, most likely, has indelibly fixed the dark 
destiny of the future dwellers in Missouri. That insane rote has already 
caused about a hundred thousand worthless Slaves to exclude twice that num- 



■.) I 



l.er of sturdy frpemen frnm the State : ami yet its evil consequences are only 
beginning to be developed. To adopt the prophftii' Ftrain <if Clurji-Chdse — 

The child may rne that is unborn, 

The voting of that day. 
Encouraged l)y the result of the Missouri controversy, and the subserviency 
of Northern demagogues in permitting the revocation of the Compromise of 
1820 (compared to whicli, the cruel revocation of the edict of Nantes was a 
small affair), — the attempt is now being made, by that same power, to dese- 
crate the free soil and fair regions of the west, by introducing and multiplying 
therein a degraded population— each of which is equivalent only to ihree-fijfhs 
of a man! aud those substitutes for manhood are to extend the basis of a reck- 
less political fioicer which already contruls the Government of this " model Ke. 
public ! 1" 

Assuredly, the noble States and glorious Institutions of this great Empire 
can neither prosper, nor be secure, on such a basis. Free States can only be 
built up, and maintained, where every male inhal/itant is fice-fifths of a man — 
a genuine, intelligent Human Integer; and not a miserable down-trodden //ac- 
iioit of the species. It has been clearly ascertained — and we shall do well to 
recognize the fact, — that neither chattel Slaves, nor brutified loli/r/amists, can 
constitute a State, worthy of this Confederacy. Such States must consist of 
" high-minded men" — 

" Men who their duties know, 

But know their Rights, and knowing, dare maintain." 



FINIS. 



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